Purdue Polytechnic's "guitar lab" remains one of Purdue's most popular courses. Gryphon Mawhorter’s lifelong passion for building guitars caught the attention of Mark French, who teaches the course. French appointed Mawhorter, a junior in audio engineering technology, to lab supervisor — and Mawhorter is now charting his own unique path in the Polytechnic.

Purdue Polytechnic’s Davin Huston and Mark French, along with Kathryn Smith, a former graduate student in Huston’s lab, have created a flexible, printed circuit board that makes electric guitars better for both players and manufacturers.